All proceeds from the EP will go to gun crime charities

Don't Trigger, a three-track EP, includes the voices of mothers of people shot dead in drug or gang-related gun crime.

Over the past five years some 100 people, predominantly from a black background, have been killed.

The campaign has been lent weight by Prime Minister Tony Blair who met the campaigners before the single's launch.

The Don't Trigger campaign includes the EP, music videos to be shown on digital channels and associated events. All proceeds from the EP will go to gun crime charities.

'Nationwide stigma'

Raymond Stevenson from Urban Concepts, a London community organisation, said he hoped the music would build a stronger, wider coalition of people prepared to speak out - while also providing a voice to those who have suffered.

"The campaign songs are hard-hitting and deliver the stark realities of gun crime and the effect it has on all communities," said Mr Stevenson.

"By highlighting the tragic consequences of gun criminality, we aim to create a nationwide stigma against gun crime.

Operation Trident runs high-profile advertising campaigns

"Many have wanted to be part of the solution. Now they can be, by buying the Don't Trigger EP and making a stand against gun crime.

"For me there are lots of high-profile artists with positive messages but none have given the victims' families a voice. The whole campaign is structured in a way it leaves you in no doubt we need to act immediately to stop the escalation of gun crime"

Lucy Cope, founder of Mothers Against Guns, is among the families who have thrown their weight behind the campaign.

"This CD is a powerful medium and tool against gun crime," she said. "It has allowed the families of gun crime violence to express their feelings and demand to know why their children were taken with no answers given."

Trident campaign

Gun crime has been a key target for the Metropolitan Police since the founding of Operation Trident in 1998.

The specialist unit originally aimed to target gun crime perpetrated against black communities of the city, although officers now have a wider focus as gang and gun culture has developed.

A related unit, Operation Trafalgar, now targets gun crime in other communities. Similar specialist teams have worked in other cities.

A key aim of the specialist unit of 300 officers is to combat fear of reprisals felt by many witnesses to gun crimes.

It has also invested heavily in advertising campaigns and community contacts in an effort to dispel suspicion of police among some people from a minority background.

Lee Jasper, equalities and policing advisor to London mayor Ken Livingstone, said gun crime remained a priority for London.